BREAKING NEWS : Jamaican inventor, Rayvon Stewart a COVID-19 fighter, UTech student on cloud nine as his creation touted as possible weapon against deadly Coronavirus

Patricia Duncan-Sutherland (second left), chairman, JMMB Joan Duncan
 Foundation, presents a cheque from the JMMB Trust Fund to Rayvon
Stewart on June 9, 2019 while (from left) Professor Paul Golding, dean, College
of Business and Management, UTech, Jamaica; Donna Duncan-Scott, group
executive director, culture and human development, JMMB Group; and
 Nigel Cooper, head of the Joan Duncan School of Entrepreneurship,
Ethics and Leadership, UTech, look on.

BY ARTHUR HALL Editor-at-large halla@jamaicaobserver.com  Tuesday, March 31, 2020

UNIVERSITY of Technology (UTECH), Jamaica student Rayvon Stewart is on top of the world this morning after his invention “XERMOSOL” was yesterday named by Commonwealth Secretary General Baroness Patricia Scotland as a possible key weapon in the fight to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

“Words can't express my feelings. I stood in shock for like 10 minutes or maybe a little more [when I heard]. Words really can't express my feelings,” Stewart, a final-year student in the School of Computing and Information Technology at UTech told the Jamaica Observer

“The first thing that came to my mind is that, finally, I can start implementing and trying to save humanity.

“This is something that the world really needs and, finally, they are seeing that there is a need for it and, sadly, persons had to start dying before they saw the need,” added Stewart.

XERMOSOL is a simple device that uses ultraviolet light technology to kill bacteria found on doorknobs, thereby reducing the risk of an individual contracting a germ upon contact.

SCOTLAND... the potential
 impact of
 Rayvon’s invention could
now be even more important as the 
world battles
the frightening COVID-19 pandemic

The innovation would be particularly useful in public spaces, such as hospitals and health care facilities, in reducing the spread of bacteria and viruses. The unique device is simpler than similar products, which require the installation of new doorknobs.

In an opinion piece released yesterday, the Commonwealth secretary general noted that, after the outbreak of the lethal bacteria Klebsiella in Jamaica five years ago, Stewart set about finding a way to curb the spread of harmful germs. “I made a determined decision that I was going to find a solution to limit the transfer of pathogens to multiple surfaces, thereby saving lives,” Scotland quoted Stewart as saying at the time.

Klebsiella, like COVID-19, is spread from person to person or via contaminated surfaces. It can be killed by hand-washing with warm, soapy water.

“I met Rayvon at the Commonwealth Health Ministers Meeting in Geneva last year. He was among the finalists short-listed for last year's Commonwealth Health Innovation Awards,” Scotland said.

“He took part in an exhibition on the theme 'Universal Health Coverage: Reaching the unreached, ensuring that no one is left behind', which highlighted how young people are tackling age-old challenges with modern technology and disruptive thinking.

“The event underlined [the] Commonwealth['s] commitment to empowering young people as outlined in our charter, and also our contribution to achieving the sustainable development goals,” said Scotland. more